Crocheted Doily Baskets

With Easter coming up very soon, I've been trying to come up with cute Easter gift ideas. Stiffening doilies is certainly not a new idea, but I have never tried it until now, and it's super easy!

I purchased this particular doily at the Dollar Tree, but the Goodwill or other thrifty places are a great sources as well. I remember my mom using doilies under everything! You might have some of these on hand!

What you'll need:

~Fabric stiffener (any brand)

~Doily

~Various dishes and/or bowls

Using a small bowl, start saturating the doily with the stiffener. Get it completely wet, but not dripping

Depending on how "deep" you want your doily basket, lay it either on the outside OR on the inside of the bowl. On the outside will produce a broader basket, and in the inside of the bowl, the basket will be smaller. I'm not talking a significant size changes, put there is a difference. I did both ways and I think I like the one on the outside of the bowl...you can get stuff in the basket!

Eye ball the doily until it's even all the way around, you don't want a crooked basket. The stiffener does take time to dry. I would say overnight, but I wasn't that patient. I checked it periodically and when it was dry I started prying!

Notice I said prying. That is what you have to do: pry. It's a little scary, and with the first one I was pretty nervous, it is hard to get off. Little by little, inching around and around, until finally, it is loose. And what you have produced is a beautiful petite little doily basket, ready for eggs or candies!
Here is a bigger one ( I did several sizes) and I didn't have a bowl large enough...so I put it on the outside of the largest one I had and then put the upside down bowl on a glass, so the doily dried sort of suspended. This is probably my favorite one, and it was a goodwill find.